This invention pertains to rendering and rasterizing of document print data in a printing environment network setting, and in particular, to a system and method for distributing the implementation (distribute-process implementation) of these tasks on a peer-to-peer basis to plural devices in order to increase the speed and efficiency of execution of multiple-page print-jobs.
In the flow stream of document data which resides between a creation source of that data, such as an application in a computer, and one or more printers which are going to be called upon to implement a printing job, it is typical that functional steps known as rendering and rasterizing (one or both) must typically be performed before printing can take place. It turns out that in the usual management of document print data in a flow stream, such as that mentioned above, the steps of rendering and rasterizing each requires typically a significant amount of processing time, and it is to address this issue that the method and system of the present invention are focused.
Generally speaking, and with respect to practice of the present invention, at around the time that a multiple-page print-job is defined and called for, and thus on a dynamic document-by-document basis, an assessment is made of available resources, typically, one or more computers, one or more servers, and one or more printers. More specifically, an assessment is made to review the availabilities and functional capabilities for rendering and rasterizing offered by print drivers, spoolers, print processors, and print assist, where print assist is any component added to the print subsystem, that are made available by system resources, in order to select a group of these resources to which to distribute and direct one or both of the seriatim tasks of rendering and rasterizing. Such a distribution, performed according to the invention on a peer-to-peer basis, yields a very efficient and speedy process for handling large, multi-page print jobs. Featured in the present invention is the concept of most appropriately distributing, to plural, peer-to-peer, interconnected resources (a grid), either one or both of the usual, very time-consuming tasks of first-stage rendering followed by second-stage rasterizing of print data on its way to delivery to one or more printers for execution of a print-job.
The various significant features and operational advantages afforded by the present invention will become very fully apparent as the description which now follows below is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.